Soundfall Review: Rhythm Based Looter Shooter Game

06.09.2022 | By Yaroslav Moklyak

I’ve always liked rhythm games, especially those that mix with another genre to create something unique in the end. One such game is Soundfall – a vibrant, role-playing game from Drastic Games that combines the concepts of shooter and rhythm games, making you stick to the beat while attacking enemies or dodging. Everything in this world lives and breathes music.

In Soundfall, you enter the musical world of Symphonia, guarded by guardian inhabitants whose main task is to protect the music of the world from the evil Discordians.

If you are a newbie in rhythm games, it may be useful for you to check the best 15 Soundfall tips. They may help you to become better in rhythm games and the Soundfall game itself.

Game Detailes
Publisher:	Noodlecake
Developer:	Drastic Games
Release Date:	05.11.2022
Available Platforms:	PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, Switch
Genres:	Music, RPG, Shooter
How Long to Beat:	22 Hours (Story + Extra)

Soundfall Trailer

The Plot of the Game

You play as Melody, a girl who works in a coffee shop and is a talented musician. One mundane day she sits down to listen to music, but as soon as she puts on her headphones, she gets pulled into the magical world of Symphony. It’s the world where all music comes from.

Melody has been summoned because she is the Guardian of Harmony and must help defeat the evil monsters (Discordians) who are trying to stop the creation of music.

The overall narrative of Soundfall won’t wow anyone, as the emphasis is not on the story, but it is enjoyable enough to keep the gameplay engaging.

Over the course of the journey, you will meet other characters that you can also play as.

Soundfall Gameplay and Game Mechanics

Soundfall’s gameplay is its strongest point. There’s dynamic, background music playing all the time, and absolutely everything moves to the beat of those songs. The game is structured in such a way that for maximum effectiveness any of your actions must be calculated according to the tempo, whether it’s standard ranged attacks, melee strikes or dodging.

Playing in unison with the music in Soundfall may seem challenging at first, but it won’t be for long. The game is structured so that you quickly get the hang of it, get into the rhythm, and start matching it. Soundfall is designed more for the player to have fun and relax a bit.

There is a metronome at the bottom of the screen, which is designed to help the player and shows the exact time you need to shoot the enemy for maximum effect. On the options screen, you can also turn on the sound of the metronome.

The variety of enemies at the start leaves a lot to be desired, but this makes up for the large number of different combinations that make skirmishes exciting and challenging enough to encourage you to continue to make timely attacks, score combos and deal maximum damage. The tempo of the combat depends on the music, and this also dilutes the monotony of the combat.

It’s important to note that dodging enemy attacks is just as important as attacking.

Weapons and Armor

Melody is equipped with the Beat Blaster weapon, which you use to attack enemies. The better and more accurate the timing of your attacks, the greater the range and damage your shot does.

Over time, other weapons will be available to you, which have their own characteristics. With some of them you need to wait for the right moment and attack in semi-automatic mode, and with the others you can make a barrage of attacks, but they have a longer reload time.

As you progress through the game you will be able to upgrade your weapons, armor and cores, which will add unique effects and statuses to your attacks. Armor and weapons have their own peculiarities, but, often, it is enough to focus on damage and defense indicators and select the appropriate ammunition according to them.

Also, do not forget to check the store. So you can sell unnecessary weapons and armor, as well as buy something of value.

It’s important to mention that the appearance of the character in the game does not change. Changed only the appearance of equipped weapons and their visual effect of the attack.

Looting, Chests, and Rewards

Looting is an important aspect of the game, as you need to regularly change your weapons and armor to fight stronger enemies.

As you progress through the levels, you will find various chests of weapons and armor. At the end of each level you’ll be rewarded with experience and weapons (or armor). The quality of the weapon you get depends on the difficulty and speed of the level. Generally levels are not too long, and to get a good reward you need to pass each level before the song ends.

Music and Sound Effects

It is logical that the developers paid so much attention to music. In Soundfall, a large music library of different songs is available for each level to maintain the dynamics of the gameplay.

Each of the game worlds in Soundfall belongs to a specific music genre, which makes the game mechanics more diverse and interesting. Along the way, you’ll encounter types of music such as jazz, soul, pop, classical, funk, and several others. Regardless of your musical taste, you’re sure to find songs you enjoy

Each level has its own unique song. On top of that, you can import your custom song choices, and thus make your own tempo game.

What’s more, the developers have well worked out a lot of sounds, and every action of the character or his interaction with the world is accompanied by a beautiful sound effect. The environment dances with you, be it the pulsation of the speakers or the shaking of the trees. The world is alive with music.

Game Design

A game has 10 worlds in total, each with its own unique visual style. At the same time, closer to the middle of the game, the player can easily recognize the familiar set of elements from which the level was generated. Despite the different aesthetics of the locations and their objects, with time you may feel a certain monotony.

Soundfall Characters

The plot of the game revolves around one single character – Melody and her friends! But besides her, there are other characters in Soundfall. There are 5 unique characters in the game, each with their own personality and musical preferences.

Melody Harper: Pop Princess
Brite Harper: Pixel Punk
Ky Sun-Yin: Rhyme and Rhythm Reaper
Jaxon: Metalhead Warrior
Lydia: Genius of Classics

Moreover, each of them has its own unique weapons, abilities and fighting style. Moreover, the characters perfectly complement each other during battles, creating an exciting team game in cooperative mode.

Mobs and Enemies

Most of the time the player has to fight a variety of mobs, which change from location to location. The variety of Discordians is pleasantly surprising. In a game that is largely dictated by repetition, you encounter a wider variety of villains as you progress through the game.

Initially, the Discordians attack only with melee attacks, but over time they start shooting at you with cannons, darts and missiles, and other types of weapons.

There are also many arenas where the dynamics of the music increase, and more enemies begin to run at the player. Over time, additional threats in the form of lasers and bombs appear in the locations and must be avoided.

Soundfall System Requirements (PC)

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.

Minimum
Operating System:	Windows 10 x64
Processor:	Intel Core Intel Core i5-3470 or equivalent / AMD FX-8350 or equivalent
Memory:	4 GB RAM
Graphics:	GeForce GTX 660 (2048 MB) / Radeon R9 390X (8192 MB)
DirectX:	Version 11
Storage:	10 GB available space

Recommended
Operating System:	Windows 10 x64
Processor:	Intel Core i7-6700K or equivalent / AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or equivalent
Memory:	8 GB RAM
Graphics:	Geforce GTX 1070 (8192 MB) / Radeon RX 5700 (8192 MB)
DirectX:	Version 12
Storage:	10 GB available space

Game Advantages

Game Disadvantages

What's Wrong with the Game?

Unfortunately, given all the features and uniqueness of Soundfall, the combat process, over time, becomes monotonous and boring, as it has nothing new to offer the player.

Another problem with Soundfall is that the player does not feel his growth and progression as the game progresses. The way you approach a battle in the game at the start is not much different from the way you do it in the middle or at the end of the game. In the end, the entire game process boils down to three actions: follow the rhythm, kill enemies, and collect loot.

Conclusion

Overall, Soundfall is far from a perfect game. In the beginning, the game is exciting, but over time it starts to get bored with the similarity of the locations and monotonous mechanics.

That said, if you just want to have fun and fight your enemies to a good beat, you’ll have fun wading through the various levels of Soundfall and killing crowds of enemies in arenas.

The game is perfect for both adults and children.

The game has been tested on Play Station 5.

Overall Rating

 2.8/5

Yaroslav Moklyak

Game Expert, Editor

Yarikmoklyak2010@gmail.com

Despite the average rating, I liked the game. I love good music and fast-paced games, and Soundfall has both. It is especially pleasant to relax after a long and difficult day. However, this is a one-time game, and no more.

I advise you to play!